Have we talked about creating sacred space vs casting circle? A circle is a very real barrier; it takes us out of the mundane world & brings us to that wonderful place “between” physical reality and the ethereal world. This makes our ritual worship more reverent and makes any magical tasks easier because the circle is energy. When we raise a circle we must also dismantle it & release the energy when we’re done or we can become energetically unbalanced. Sacred space’s balancing energies, on the other hand, will simply fade over time.

As in all things, we must 1st center or plug ourselves into our psychic connection to power, and then ground which is to connect energetically to the earth. This is like the warm-up before an exercise workout.

Cleansing is a physical act. It’s tidying up & removing obstacles or clutter. If we’re outdoors, this means picking up sticks and stones that might trip us, and taking care of trash. If we’re indoors then we sweep and dust our working area & generally tidy-up. Accumulations of dirt and clutter create chaotic energy. We want to remove physical negativity to enhance our witchy efforts.

Purifying is a magical act to dislodge and remove disharmonious psychic energies & thereby establish fluid and positive energy in the working area. We want to feel that our space is balanced and the energies flowing so there are no sticky spots. We can do this by smudging the area with sage, frankincense, or sandalwood incense, or sprinkling with a dash of salt in a ¼ cup of purified water, or by placing a piece of dark, smoke crystal or obsidian in the center of the area to absorb the energies. The stone will have to be programmed 1st for the purpose, and later it should be cleared by holding it in running water.

Consecration is to dedicate the space to our immediate purpose. This can be spoken out loud or done in silence with intense thought or gestures.

Hi Bonnie,when I found my new woodland grove, I cleared the place up by removing rocks twigs and branches etc. Then I consecrated the area, using The consecrated water I had made and a wand of oak. It is a wonderful place and because it is off the beaten track, Derwen (my wife) and I can be there all day and not be seen.Blessed Be!Robin

Funny you should mention that Bonnie. Just after first finding the grove and checking out it's suitability, there seemed to be a sort of negative feel about the area. Derwen was all for moving on, but I stuck with it and performed the rite. As soon as the rite was done everything seemed so different. Now, all sorts of creatures visit us while we are there, rabbits, birds, weasels and even a Stag. The transformation was incredible.Now we can do rites and rituals and other things in peace, harmony and privacy. It's wonderful.

Please forgive me for chiming in without prior introduction (I'm new). Actually I'm relatively new to these matters as well as the site and would appreciate advice.

Through meditation and visualisation (at home) I meet my guide at my sacred place - in reality a Beech grove close to my home, leading to a large circular clearing where most of the trees have been felled (I presume as part of a managed forest program). Its a popular dog-walkers area and I would be anxious to be seen to be doing anything considered out of the ordinary. So my commitment to the area has simply been to collect litter. I know nothing about ritual cleansing or consecration. It would be possible for me to surreptitiously walk the area and sprinkle with salt water but I would not know how to go about consecrating the area.

I've been advised that before meditating I should cast a circle for protection. Do you think its necessary? I journey to seek understanding and growth, not with any magical intent.

Consecration is just a fancy word for a simple act of declaring our purpose to the energies that are present and then letting those energies get on with it. For a large, public area you could describe the boundaries (ex: from the big rock to the fallen tree)rather than walking the perimeter. You'd do the same cleansing & purifying as above, but do it by working a small area that will sympathetically represent the whole space. State why you're setting the area aside as sacred space, ex: environmental protection, spiritual harmony. Push the energy out.

We can use the circle for those times when we're working for another person and need shielding from feed-back, need power for a magical purpose, or are in an at-risk situation, for example out-of-body travel, healing, facing off a stalker, or in such deep meditation that I lose consciousness. A circle provides energy balance, more power and protection from interference when we don't want to be messed with.

We can use sacred space for more light-weight meditation and pathworking/journeying. Sacred space provides an energetically balanced working area that's soothing to work in, like the difference between a spotlessly clean room and a filthy one - which one would you rather sit in?

Just an example of sacred space in the home: I have a corner shelf in my living room that is purified and consecrated as a place for candle spells. I've got symbols of the 4 elements and a Goddess statue on the shelf.

My formal (indoor) working area is an upper room set aside for ritual. I consider it to be sacred space all the time. It is where I work at Full Moon and Sabbats. The energies there are more intense & accumulate over the seasons, getting rather heavy. I clear it at every Imbolc & cleanse, purify and consecrate to renew the space and my tools.